THE CANADIAN HOBTICULTUEIST. 



117 



flowered but profuse in bloom, while 

 throughout the undergrowth is a bright 

 blue gleam, as though some spangles 

 had fallen from the sky — the gift of a 

 flower of which the name is unknown 

 to iiie. Then from out the grass shine 

 everywhere small bright flowers of 

 many colours, among them a delicate • 

 Gentian-like bloom Vjravely liftiug its 

 head up on slender stalk. And there ; 

 are so many lovely flowers besides — a 

 l)ush covered with apricot-coloured 

 blossoms in shape like a Minmlus. a 

 glowing mass of red Lythrum, and a 

 ilelicately lovely Aster, in which the 

 lilac is replaced by a sheeny grey-pink. 

 The feathery blooms of Spirsea and [ 

 iome white Daises shine here and there 

 among their more richly-coloured 

 sisters. It is indeed a garden unap- 

 proachable in its own beauty, and with 

 its tender loveliness made more impres- 

 sive by its wonderful surroundings. 



Just where we are sitting we have 

 taken advantage of masses of tall shrubs 

 and the stems of forest trees, to shut i 

 out from ^new all buildings and roads, 

 and liaA'e left ourselves with the Falls 

 and the ^Sature-jilanted garden as they 

 might have been seen long, long ago. 

 There is hardly a breath of wind ; the 

 great misty columns of spi-ay rise high 

 into the sky from the base of the falling j 

 water, and it is only at rare intervals ! 

 that a wandering spirit of air takes one 

 of the lighter spray clouds and bends 

 it over towards us, when its soft and ; 

 dew-like mist is shed over the thirsty 1 

 flowers, making their vivid colours glow 

 with intenser beauty in the rays of the 

 setting sun. As the gentle breeze 

 passes by they bow their heads in grati- 

 tude for the welcome moisture, and a 

 rustling murmur runs from top to 

 t)ottom of the hill as they raise them- 

 selves up again in thankful praise. 



And ever the voices of the waters 

 are cii-cling around us, now seeming to 

 raise a threatening warnin<; of their 



irresistible power, now chanting a 

 solemn death song as they are hurled 

 over the precipice to be bi-oken to the 

 veiy last drop into foam, and spray, 

 and mist on the rocks below, and ever 

 through the voices, now loud, now low. 

 with unceasing iteration, seems to 

 vibrate a note of pi-aise to the gi-eat 

 Creator of all for the use He has made 

 of them in the formation of one of the 

 wonderful sights He has given on earth 

 for our enjoyment. 



And now, with sudden dip, the sun 

 is lost behind the hill ; the air strikes 

 chill, and the flowers begin folding 

 themselves away to sleep, but the beauty 

 of the scene entrances us yet. In front 

 of the now dark and sunless foreground 

 sweeps the broad horse-shoe of foaming 

 and struggling water: the great emerald 

 is now changed into a myriad-tinted 

 opal ; the wavelets that leap into the 

 air all along the whirling rapids are 

 dyed with a flu.sh of pink ; while from 

 far down in the gloom and depths of 

 the Great Fall a rainbow rises into the 

 misty -mass of spray. Above, around, 

 and through the spray gleam the float- 

 ing clouds in the evening sky — now 

 blushing o'er with I'osy flame, now 

 slowly changing to a lustrous gold, till 

 all colour slowly fading gleam by gleam 

 away, the grey hush of the coming night 

 falls over the wondrous scene. 



As we rise to begin our way down 

 the hill, our fir.st step seems to bring 

 us back from a world of dreams, and 

 we know afterwards that the .same 

 thought was in both our minds and the 

 same words were ringing in both our 

 ears — -those woi'ds in which God gives 

 us a foreshadowing of His eternal 

 mysteries ; " Eye hath not seen, nor 

 ear heard, neither have entered into the 

 heart of man, the things which God 

 hath prei)ared for them that love Him." 

 H. Stuart Wortlev (Colonel), in the 

 GariJen. 



